


Fail-safe

by laireshi



Category: Captain America (Comics), Iron Man (Comic), Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Artificial Intelligence, Fix-It, Hydra Steve Rogers, M/M, holy shit what's happened to Tony?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 16:45:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10442448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laireshi/pseuds/laireshi
Summary: Everyone always knew that Tony Stark would make a terrifying villain. When he joined forces with Steve Rogers, the world didn't stand a chance.(Or: Tony wakes from a coma, and something is wrong.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, a WIP. That's a first for me. Wish me luck?
> 
> With thanks for beta to [mrsbananers](http://mrsbananers.tumblr.com/) and evil plotting discussions to [Comicsohwhyohwhy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/comicsohwhyohwhy).
> 
> This is a Civil War II/Hydra Cap fix-it, but as you know, to fix things, you have to make them worse first. I have it all planned out.

“He’s dangerous—”

“ _Everything’s dangerous_.” Female voice now, angry. “He might be the only person able to help us.”

“Fuck’s sake, Carol, just because you feel guilty, you don’t have to—” The first speaker cut himself off. 

Tony felt dizzy. _Carol_. That was Carol speaking, before. His mind seemed to be wrapped in cotton wool. He couldn’t quite think. Sedatives, he knew that much, he was shaking off sedatives, but what had they given him? And _how much_? He very distantly felt like he should be worried about it, but he couldn’t gather enough energy. His body felt odd. Weirdly weak. _That_ sparkled a moment of worry, the memory of being paralysed—but no, he could move his fingers, his toes. It was just as if he hadn’t done that for a while. 

He forced himself to keep still. He’d heard voices, so there was someone nearby, someone probably aware that he was waking up. He needed more data. He had to focus. How did he end up unconscious? He couldn’t remember . . . 

As soon as he thought that, the memories came, as if on command.

The world ending. The world, coming back. 

Doom, helping him? Doom, _pretty_?

Riri, so young and yet so bright, the future.

Rhodey dying. No no no, Tony couldn’t—

Bruce dying.

The war between superheroes.

Carol fighting him. 

Steve helping him through it.

The visions. Miles killing Steve. _No_. That wasn’t true. That didn’t happen. 

Carol, hitting him, _hard_ , but that was what he wanted, wasn’t it? To finally be away from it all. 

His fail safes kicking in. His consciousness being uploaded into a digital form, so that he could keep on helping others. Keep on being a hero, in whatever way he could. 

He’d thought that was everything, but it wasn’t. More memories came now, strangely distorted, more like a movie he’d watched than something he’d experienced himself. He understood that must’ve been what his AI self remembered.

He wasn’t even remotely ready to access these memories immediately, but he had to know. Knowledge was always his best weapon. He couldn’t put it off. He couldn’t risk missing something important. 

Steve and Carol, arguing over his body, Hank placating them. That was normal. 

And then, Steve, alone, sitting next to him, his head hung low. What was he doing?

 _“What a waste_.”

It was Steve’s voice, but so cold.

 _“He loved you. He loved you and he admired you, even when you fought_.”

Now that he was reliving the memories, he couldn’t stop them, and he didn’t understand what he was seeing. Something—some files must’ve gotten corrupted. He was hearing Steve, but these weren’t words Steve would ever say . . . And this wasn’t the way he talked. Something was wrong, here.

_“I want you to see this, Tony. More than anything—I need you to see what I do next. I am going to destroy everything you ever built.”_

This wasn’t Steve and this couldn’t have been Steve, not ever, no matter how much he could’ve hated Tony at times, _this wasn’t Steve_. Steve was a good man, full of warmth, working for what was best of everyone. 

Was it a Skrull? Was it Steve, brainwashed? 

_“Please, I’m begging you, wake up now. Come and try to stop me.”_

Something was so wrong and Tony had never noticed. 

_“Do you want to know what I saw, Tony?”_

Tony listened to Steve describing his ideal world to him, _Hydra world,_ and several things suddenly made a lot of terrible sense, in retrospection.

The recording stopped then—too soon. He should’ve remembered more, he should know why he was waking up, he should have his memories synced perfectly with his AI self, but there was nothing more. Why was it? 

And what was happening to Steve?

 _I’m going to listen to Steve Rogers,_ Tony had said, and he was sick at himself. Had Steve still been _Steve_ then? How could Tony _not_ see?

This wasn’t important right now. Going forward was. Planning. Saving the world and saving Steve. He woke up now, just like that not-Steve desired, and he _would_ fight and he _would_ win.

Tony sat up. He was still in his pod, but it was open, warm, he thought Carol and whoever else was here might’ve _tried_ to wake him up—or maybe something triggered the protocols and they only noticed he was changing. He looked around, and Hank stood there, frozen, watching him. 

“Tony?” Hank asked. Tony saw movement behind him and looked, just to check it wasn’t Steve—for a moment he froze, seeing the Captain America uniform, then he identified Sam Wilson and, next to him, Carol.

Okay. First things first. Make it right, Iron Man.

“We need to stop Steve Rogers,” Tony said.

Sam laughed.

“Yeah.” Carol’s voice was grim. “It might be too late for that.”

“A year too late.” Sam looked haggard, with dark shadows under his eyes. He didn’t have the shield. His costume was dirty.

They all looked terrible, now that Tony was looking. Even Hank, usually so strong, was hunched over, his usually keen eyes drooped as if he hadn’t been sleeping.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked. Because there was something big, he was sure of it. He . . . “Is Steve—is Steve dead?”

He was suddenly paralysed with fear. They had to _help him,_ not hurt him, but what Tony remembered from Steve talking to his body—and he couldn’t even begin to process _that—_ what if someone else learnt? What if someone decided to save Steve from the brainwashing by murdering him? What if it was a Skrull, and they’d killed the original Steve? That wasn’t acceptable.

“What’s wrong with Steve?” Tony demanded, climbing out of the pod, trying to stand on his own. He was still shaky, his muscles like jelly. Hank was at his side in a second, supporting him.

“Tony, should you be up so soon?” he asked, watching Tony with worry. Worry and . . . fear?

“I’m fine,” Tony snapped. “ _Steve_?”

“He’s not dead,” Carol said, and didn’t add anything else.

“What’s going on here?” Tony asked. “I know we were fighting—but you put me in a coma, we should be square now, and anyway, Steve needs us, _what’s going on_?” he asked, frantic. 

Hank opened his mouth.

“No,” Carol snapped. She was very, very pale. “I’m sorry—” She shook her head. “I am. But that doesn’t matter. _Steve needs us_? Either you really don’t know anything, or you’re a very good actor, Tony, and I know how good of a liar you can be.”

“I’m not lying!” Tony looked at Hank, then at Sam, but they both seemed uncomfortable. Sam wouldn’t look him in the eyes, and Tony had a feeling that if Hank wasn’t worried for him as a patient of sorts, he would’ve stepped away from him.

“Maybe,” Carol said. “Maybe you just remember the end of our little war, Tony. Maybe you’re honest, maybe you’re an Avenger, and maybe you want to stop what none of us saw coming. The futurist, right?”

Tony waited. She clearly wasn’t finished.

“Or maybe you’re a sleeper agent too,” she said, sharply. “Wouldn’t be the first time, _Tony_.” He didn’t like the way she stressed his name. “So until we run some checks on you? No one’s telling you anything, and you don’t take a step outside this room.”

“Carol, come on, you can’t.” He could see he wouldn’t convince her, but he had to try.

She looked at him with steel in her eyes. “I can, and I will,” she said. “I almost killed you when you were a friend. Do you think I’d hesitate when I think you’re working with him?”

She turned back, so he couldn’t see her face. She walked to the exit, gesturing at Sam to leave first. She stopped in the door, looked back at Tony. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but her voice didn’t waver. “I want to believe you waking up means hope, Tony. I do. But I spent a year fighting Steve Rogers and Tony Stark already. I’m not taking any chances.”

She closed the door behind her.

Tony couldn’t breathe. He looked at Hank, but Hank just shook his head.

Tony was completely lost.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit (5th May): this story is definitely not abandoned and I will finish it, however, I am also currently writing for Cap-IM RBB, and I have to finish that fic before the deadline at the end of May--so you can expect me to continue this one in June :)


End file.
